Oltremarino Beach Resort

‘We are looking for someone who can help us masterplan our beach resort as well as design high end wooden structures/cottages. We do not want the pinewood log cabin designs that are used in every other resort in Goa. Can you do it?’ The above question by the Italian businessmen duo of Andrea Filippi and Marco Rinaldi was the start of a beautiful design journey from conceptualisation to execution of these exclusive beach cottages on Ozrant beach in Little Vagator. The property already comprised of a shack and few bamboo cottages. However the Client, who wanted to give a premium authentic culinary Italian experience, also wanted cottages that were premium in every way and distinct from what the competition had. Our architectural team had already been dabbling in the design of prefab wooden homes especially for the CRZ areas. Through Living Concepts Goa, a sister concern in partnership with Arch. D Fernandes we had designed wooden homes made from durable hardwood species that would not only last a lifetime but also be easy to setup and dismantle. With this expertise at hand we designed the cottage structure with Matti wood (Terminalia elliptica), the then state tree of Goa. Being a local hardwood species, it had been traditionally used as a construction timber especially for roofs. Highly resistant to termites and decay due to water, it was the ideal wood for the structure. A double layered cavity wall system was designed with wood and composite material to form the wall structure. The cavity wall deign concealed all the utility lines for a clean look besides offering thermal and sound insulation. Roofing comprised Matti wood structure with composite boards with epoxy waterproofing finished with Mangalore tiles. A frameless front façade made the most of the breath-taking view of the Arabian Sea.